Melinda Morrison

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Her artistic life began at age twelve when
she attended classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. However her interests in
her craft began long before in 1804 when her great, great grandfather who was a
trader from Kalkaska, Illinois, sent out the first overland trading mission
going to Santa Fe which marked the opening of the Santa Fe Trail. Morrison says
that she finds herself in New Mexico currently, collecting and trading
antiquities just like her great, great grandfather, by following the past
footsteps and honoring the present heartbeat of living in nature and creating
art. This intention of telling a story by combining various artifacts from many
cultures and countries with found elements from the earth, is a constant
presence in her work. As she assembles the various objects, she states, while a
transformation occurs and the vital forces of past peoples and nature can be
experienced in many new ways, it is important that the truth and integrity of
the individual objects be preserved and that she honors the hands of ancient
craftsmen who created such lasting beauty. Themes of family and everyday life
are central to her work, as she assembles an art piece, a conversation of wood,
bone, metal, shape and texture evolves to form these concepts. This process
keeps her aware of humanity and her responsibility toward people and the
environment, and that by putting these treasures out into the world anew, she
hopes that their journey will speak of the union between mankind and nature.

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